This Saturday at 5 p.m., after Lotte Kopecky’s new coronation during the Elite Road World Championship, not three but six competitors presented themselves at the Zurich Congress Center for the usual press conference of ‘after the race. And for good reason: for the last time, the Women’s Hopes event was held at the same time as that of the Elites, with a race in the race. If the Espoirs are delighted to now have a full-fledged competition in 2025, for the Rwandan edition, they are however skeptical about the new regulations which will prohibit competitors who play in a WorldTour team from participating in the event U23.
And it could even be that girls belonging to ProTeams will also be excluded even if UCI President David Lappartient and his teams are still hesitant (read here). An essential question arises both within the steering committee of the international body and on the side of the athletes: how many competitors would the Espoir peloton be provided without any ProTeam athlete, in addition to banning those from the WorldTeam? This question quickly raises another: is it necessary to immediately want to follow what will now be done in the men’s peloton, when the homogeneity of the two pelotons – despite the evolution of women’s cycling – is clearly not not the same at time-T? “I’m not sure this new rule is legitimate. Now, for my part, I must also admit that after having competed for the title in mountain biking and cyclo-cross among the Elites for two years, it is strange to find myself U23 World Champion here”testifies Puck Pieterse, winner on Saturday of an Espoir race where the Top 5 is only made up of athletes who belong to a WorldTour structure (see ranking).
“I’M AFRAID THAT THE UCI WILL BE ENDED WITH A SMALL PLATOON”
A figure in international U23 cycling this season, World Time Champion in Zurich finishing 4th in the scratch, Antonia Niedermaier went for the bronze medal on Saturday. In 2025, the German will still be an Espoir but since she is a member of Canyon//SRAM Racing, she will no longer be able to participate in the U23 race and will have to take part in the Elites event. “The regulations are not perfect. I’m afraid that the UCI will end up with a very small peloton in the U23s next year. We’ll see what happens. But on the other hand, do I really have my place in Hopes? After all, I race with the Elites all season”. Silver medalist, Neve Bradbury is even more categorical than her two podium acolytes: “I find it a shame that the WorldTeam girls are being deprived of competing in the Espoir race. We’re under 23 and that’s what counts in an age category, right? I imagine there won’t be many girls in the peloton”she insists in turn.
However, the Women are delighted to now see a separation of the Elite/Espoir World Championship next year. “It’s always weird to have a race within the race. We don’t really focus on the title Hopes and we see what it ends up being”adds the Australian. “Personally, I did my job for Liane (Lippert) throughout the race and once I was let go, I switched to the race for the Espoirs title in the second group, knowing that there were three of us Hopes in our group, but I only thought about all that in the last lap”. A speech that Puck Pieterse also gave, while the U23s had a frame plate with a white number on a black background as a distinctive sign. “My priority was to make one of the Dutch women win the Elite race. The Hopes were secondary”. Case closed now for this race within the race story. What now remains at the UCI is the work of the ProTeam riders. A final decision is expected to be made by the start of the 2025 road season.
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